| Republicans
vs Workers
Labor
Board's Critics See a Bias Against Workers
...the Republican-dominated board has made it more difficult for
temporary workers to unionize and for unions to obtain financial
information from companies during contract talks. It has ruled that
graduate students working as teaching assistants do not have the
right to unionize at private universities, and it has given companies
greater flexibility to use a powerful antiunion weapon - locking
out workers - in labor disputes.
And in a decision that will affect 87 percent of American workers,
the board has denied nonunion employees the right to have a co-worker
present when managers call them in for investigative or disciplinary
meetings.
The party-line decisions have been applauded by the Republican Party's
business base, which sees them as bringing balance after rulings
that favored labor during the Clinton administration. But some academic
experts on labor relations say the recent rulings are so hostile
to unions and to collective bargaining that they run counter to
the goals of the National Labor Relations Act, the 1935 law that
gave Americans the right to form unions.
(full
article here)
No
Reason to Extend Tom Delay
Tom "Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting
taxes" DeLay said there was "no reason" to extend
benefits to help Americans who have been out of work for more than
six months.
(here)
Labor Secretary vs. Workers pt. 1
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao,
who as Labor Secretary is supposed to be solely focused on the well-being
of American workers, recently ignored how hard the economy was hitting
average workers. When asked about disappointing job creation numbers,
she told CNN, "Well, the stock market is, after all, the final
arbiter." (here)
Bush Praises Jobs Moving Overseas: "Outsourcing is
Good for America." (here)
Labor Secretary vs. Workers pt. 2
BUSH'S
LABOR SECRETARY LIES TO CONGRESS ABOUT JOBS REPORT: The
President's Council of Economic Advisor's released a report in January
of 2004 that predicted 320,000 jobs would be created in February
2004. This week, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao testified before the
House Ways and Means Committee and was asked by Rep. Charles Rangel
(D-NY) about the projection. Chao, attempting to dodge the question,
said "[the President] doesn't sign this report. The Council
of Economic Advisors signs this report." In fact, the President
signed the report on page 4. The PDF file is here:
(warning: big file.)
McFactory:
Fries With That?
President Bush's economic report to Congress "questions whether
fast-food restaurants should continue to be counted as part of the
service sector or should be reclassified as manufacturers."
Under this scenario, the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs
might be blurred because some of those jobs have been replaced by
lower-paying fast food jobs.
The tactic, which provoked outrage from members of Congress, was
the second affront to working people in as many weeks, as it followed
the Administration's public announcement of support for outsourcing
U.S. jobs overseas. (here)
We Love Our Wal-Mart
The Bush Administration, which has benefited from $475,000 in soft
money from Wal-Mart, has cut enforcement funds from the budgets
of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – the two government
watchdogs over workplace safety. (here)
We Love Our Firefighters, Sorta
THEN: "The country has come to appreciate
so very much the dedication of our nation's first responders...So
on behalf of a grateful nation, I want to thank you for the job
you're doing." - President George W. Bush, 6/24/02 (here)
NOW: "In the President's budget, funding for
the FIRE Act, the popular grant program that helps fire departments
fund equipment needs, was cut by 50%. ...state and local programs
for homeland security purposes were reduced $200 million... [and]
the Administration also recommended to eliminate planned funding
of the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response)
Act, the first-ever Federal program to fund firefighters, which
was signed into law by the President in November."
- International Association of Firefighters, 2/3/04 here
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